NY Mets Monday Morning GM: 1 trade deadline deal getting increasingly worse

Trade deadline deals have a way of sneaking up on you and becoming a whole lot more painful years after they happened. In the immediacy of those summer deals, the first instinct is to measure the performance of the player on the buying side of things. The New York Mets made several trades in the summer of 2024 with the hopes of earning themselves a championship. Almost across the board we can consider the deals a success. One of those moves is a far greater outlier and only getting worse.

Snagging Huascar Brazoban from the Miami Marlins was sneaky but it was also good. Brazoban had been pitching well in the big leagues for quite some time in 2024 and with years of control left plus minor league options, it was a clever move by David Stearns.

A similar thought could be tossed the way of a lesser trade. The Mets made a swap with the Tampa Bay Rays, sending prospect Paul Gervase to the Rays for Tyler Zuber. Justified by Zuber’s ability to maybe contribute in 2024, his time with Syracuse was so bad the Mets never trusted him enough for a promotion. Based on the early results in 2025, little has changed.

The Rays are lapping the Mets in this Tyler Zuber for Paul Gervase trade

Do we start with the bad news or the worse news first? 

Gervase has been so good for the Durham Bulls he’s putting ‘Nuke’ LaLoosh to shame. The control issues Gervase had while with the Mets in the minors seem to be fully behind him. Armed with a 3.27 ERA in 22 innings, he’s doing it with more than smoke and mirrors. A 0.86 WHIP, 2.9 walks per 9, and outstanding 13.5 strikeouts per 9 all help to highlight the beastly start to his first full year under the guidance of the masterful Rays organization. He was always good in the Mets minor leagues, but he has reached a whole new level.

Then there’s Zuber which, in your opinion, can qualify as the bad news or worse news.

The piece acquired by the Mets has been shaky in Syracuse yet again this season. His 12.38 ERA last year has fallen minimally to 8.82. The runs scored against him have come in bunches, including 3 in an appearance on May 17 and another 2 his next time out on May 21. 

It’s becoming evident the Mets probably won’t receive any reward for this under-the-radar trade that they had promise for last July. There could come a point where Zuber’s struggles in the minors prove to be too much to even keep him on the 40-man roster. A commodity who might not pass through the waiver wire if DFA’d because of his remaining minor league option, there is a breaking point for all players who consistently can’t figure it out.